My grandad grew up in Shamokin on 5th Street. He worked in the mines. When they closed, he and his wife and their young son (my dad) moved to Connecticut. My Grandpa eventually succumbed to Black lung disease from working in the mines. I remember going to Shamokin when I was
about 10 years old to visit with my Grandma Lottie. Great Grandpa John had passed many years before from Black Lung disease.
what a great piece, Randy! when i used to travel for the model train magazine, i went through communities like this constantly in the early 1990s. things were quite grim then; but it is the resilience of people that ends up winning in the end, just like the people you profiled here. Thank you for taking the time to do this. Maybe we need to set up a monthly donation fund beyond substack to fund these trips (on weekdays or fridays/saturdays) so that you can highlight even more communities like this. i'm in.
Thinking about a road trip up there next week. 😎
My grandad grew up in Shamokin on 5th Street. He worked in the mines. When they closed, he and his wife and their young son (my dad) moved to Connecticut. My Grandpa eventually succumbed to Black lung disease from working in the mines. I remember going to Shamokin when I was
about 10 years old to visit with my Grandma Lottie. Great Grandpa John had passed many years before from Black Lung disease.
A Patreon for Trip Expenses Maybe ? I'm in as well.
what a great piece, Randy! when i used to travel for the model train magazine, i went through communities like this constantly in the early 1990s. things were quite grim then; but it is the resilience of people that ends up winning in the end, just like the people you profiled here. Thank you for taking the time to do this. Maybe we need to set up a monthly donation fund beyond substack to fund these trips (on weekdays or fridays/saturdays) so that you can highlight even more communities like this. i'm in.
happy to take it offline. just email me!
my email reply to you bounced, "mailbox full" - drop me an email from another account if you can and i'll forward.